Julianne Moore is by far the most beautiful redhead in Hollywood today, in fact she is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. She became even more wonderful when I found out how nice she is and what a great sense of humor she has.
She plays Telly Paretta in The Forgotten, a mother whose child was killed in a plane crash. Now a year later the whole world, including her husband and psychiatrist, is trying to convince her that her son never existed at all.
Even though shes playing a somber and heavy role like this one Moore never stopped cracking jokes and being brutally honest about her work.
Check out the website for The Forgotten
Daniel Robert Epstein: Your character in The Forgotten is in distress the whole movie. It doesnt seem like it was a fun role.
Julianne Moore: Actually it was so much fun. I love the crew, [co-star] Dominic [West], the producers, it was shot in New York and I live here. Im never really that sad when I finish a movie because its finally done but for this one I was standing there crying and telling people how much I will miss them.
I maintain my emotional level by talking, I talk a lot. Its kind of my way of relaxing. I like to talk about nothing, joke around and keep it loose. Then I just do it. I find the more I sit and struggle over something the less I get out of it. If Im relaxed then I can get somewhere. This role wasnt so terribly arduous because even though its emotional its still a thriller so you have to keep moving. The character can never afford to sit and break down because she has to get into the car and keep going.
DRE: What was your inspiration for the character?
JM: It wasnt so hard because shes not so different from every other mother I know in New York City. Shes an urban mom with a job and shes just a regular person. Thats what I liked about it. She doesnt have any superpowers so there is nothing special about her. Shes just very much attached to this child she lost. I thought the idea that from the very start of the movie you are questioning her veracity and her sanity just as she is. It hooks you emotionally from the beginning. As an actor you only have yourself to work with in a sense and people understand that the worst loss you could imagine is the loss of a child. That devastation is unfathomable.
DRE: There was a very scary scene with Alfre Woodard. So even though you knew what was going to happen did you still get scared when you saw the finished movie?
JM: No, but I was in a room with someone who broke her chair. She jumped and yanked the arms off her movie seat. I think that speaks very highly of the film.
DRE: What did you like about the script?
JM: I got hooked into it right away. Is she crazy or not crazy? I was really intrigued because so many films dont involve you emotionally.
DRE: Did the twist get you?
JM: Yes I was very excited by it.
DRE: Are you a fan of the twist ending because youve done a few films with twists like The Hours and even the remake of Psycho?
JM: I like surprises in movies. I love to be scared. Did you see 28 Days Later?
DRE: Yes.
JM: Thats my idea of a good time. I like mysteries too.
DRE: Is the most youve ever run in a movie?
JM: Yeah I ran and ran in this. Sometimes it was good because it was cold and the running kept me warm. Its funny because I ran for five weeks in this movie and when I first started I kept pulling my quads. Then I switched to black sneakers and it got better. I like doing the action stuff because its fun and challenging.
DRE: Did you ever do any sports like running?
JM: No I didnt start really exercising until I really got into acting. [laughs] My hips are starting to go so I have to stop. I cant do it so much anymore. But Im able to do it because I have a lot of stamina. [The Forgotten director] Joseph Ruben was very thoughtful and used to tell me to slow down but I did fine.
DRE: The Forgotten highlights an area of New York that you dont see spotlighted on film too much, the DUMBO area [Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass]. Was that an appeal for this film?
JM: I actually dont know what decision went into that but I thought it was interesting because there is a community over there especially of families. I have a bunch of friends that just moved into DUMBO with young kids because there are a lot of playgrounds. Its a place where you can find more space in an urban area. I liked because it shows places where people really live. We in New York know about it but others dont. Its interesting to see all these little towns that are in this city.
DRE: Are you someone who is upset when so much is given away in the trailer?
JM: They have all these marketing ideas that Im not privy too. They have all these ideas about what they show and what they cant show. I dont think the trailers for The Forgotten give anything away.
DRE: Are you a conspiracy theorist?
JM: No but I love a good conspiracy theory. I think there are so many things we dont understand. They drilled in the Antarctic recently and they pulled up all these tropical fossils. They didnt even drill down that far. We dont know anything. We are constantly finding weird evidence and water on other planets I dont think we really understand half of whats going on. There is a space museum at Cape Canaveral and whenever I come out of there my head hurts with the quasars and the black holes. There is so little we understand. I think there is a possibility for everything. Every time we think we know something such as Leeches are the answer. We discover that its not true.
DRE: There is a great actor named Lee Tergesen [most famous as Tobias Beecher on HBOs Oz] in a small role in The Forgotten. Could you see him becoming a big star?
JM: Lee is great. I worked with Lee about ten years ago on an HBO movie [Cast a Deadly Spell] where he played a transvestite. I hadnt seen him in a long time. Before we did The Forgotten I ran into him. I was coming out of my gym one morning and I see this guy in a bandana coming towards me yelling Julianne! I started to turn away because he looked crazy. I think he could have a great future.
DRE: Did your kids come to the set of The Forgotten?
JM: They did. They watched a little bit but they love going back to my trailer. The movie Im working on now, I asked if they wanted to come to set and they were like Eh, well stay in the trailer. Its always full of toys.
DRE: SuicideGirls is a big fan of The Big Lebowski.
JM: Its become a huge cult movie! Its so cool.
DRE: Do people mention it a lot to you?
JM: College students. If a 19 year old guy comes wandering over chances are hes going to say Hey Maude. But Im shocked that its become this huge phenomenon with The Lebowski Fests all over. I talked Jeff [the real Lebowski] not too long ago and hes like Isnt it something? We got to go to one someday.
DRE: Would you go to a Lebowski Fest?
JM: Sure I would.
DRE: I was surprised that you werent in Catch That Kid [directed by her husband Bart Freundlich].
JM: I was supposed to play somebodys mom but our schedules didnt work out.
DRE: Are you and Bart doing something else together?
JM: We are, were doing an independent movie called Trust the Man that he wrote. It stars me, David Duchovny, Billy Crudup and Lucy Liu. David and I play a couple that has been married for a while. Billy plays my brother and Lucy plays his girlfriend.
DRE: Has anyone every tried to make you change your hair color for a role?
JM: No they havent. Ive been wigged for a few roles. Im wearing a brown wig in the movie Im doing now. Usually they want to use my hair. Funny thing about The Forgotten is that my hair was really long and I was about to cut it but they asked me not to.
DRE: Have you ever thought doing a hard science fiction film?
JM: Its hard to say. I always respond to stories and the situations. I never want to say I want to play the Queen of England on a camel with a gun. Its never like that. Ive never been genre driven, its about the story. If a story in a certain genre surprises me then Ill do it. Violence bores me. I watched a movie not too long ago and it was just one car crash after another.
DRE: It was Bad Boys 2 wasnt it?
JM: [laughs] Literally I was checking my watch the whole time. I dont understand the appeal of them because there is no connection. But I thought Kill Bill was spectacular and it was co crazily violent. It was a fantasy! That was great.
DRE: Could you see yourself in that role?
JM: Uma Thurman was so good and I dont know if I could top her.
DRE: Even though your kids are very young, do you see any acting genes in them?
JM: They know what acting is because they know its my job. If they play act I tease them that they should do it better than that because I can tell. Right now they are children and they love to pretend. My daughter is a big princess, she loves to wear dresses, lip gloss, wear my shoes and she gets into my makeup case. My son is a classic Yu-Gi-Oh addict. They can be whatever they want to be as soon as they graduate from college.
DRE: John C. Reilly said that PT Anderson is writing a movie right now. Do you know if there is a part in it for you?
JM: I dont.
DRE: How about you and Todd Haynes?
JM: Todd is writing a movie about Bob Dylan right now. I dont know whether I will have a part in that.
DRE: Could you talk about your upcoming movie The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio?
JM: A customs agent in Canada made my day. I was going through there and they are very stern. They asked what I was doing and I told them I was shooting this movie. he asked what it was about and said its about a woman with ten children. He said You expect us to believe you have ten children? and I said You made my day!
Its a true story based on memoir a woman wrote about her mother who had ten kids. Shes married to an alcoholic and was a writer who did ad slogans to win all these prizes which she would sell for cash. She raised these ten kids who are all still alive and loved her to death. She was positive, very smart, had very little but was very happy with what she had.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
She plays Telly Paretta in The Forgotten, a mother whose child was killed in a plane crash. Now a year later the whole world, including her husband and psychiatrist, is trying to convince her that her son never existed at all.
Even though shes playing a somber and heavy role like this one Moore never stopped cracking jokes and being brutally honest about her work.
Check out the website for The Forgotten
Daniel Robert Epstein: Your character in The Forgotten is in distress the whole movie. It doesnt seem like it was a fun role.
Julianne Moore: Actually it was so much fun. I love the crew, [co-star] Dominic [West], the producers, it was shot in New York and I live here. Im never really that sad when I finish a movie because its finally done but for this one I was standing there crying and telling people how much I will miss them.
I maintain my emotional level by talking, I talk a lot. Its kind of my way of relaxing. I like to talk about nothing, joke around and keep it loose. Then I just do it. I find the more I sit and struggle over something the less I get out of it. If Im relaxed then I can get somewhere. This role wasnt so terribly arduous because even though its emotional its still a thriller so you have to keep moving. The character can never afford to sit and break down because she has to get into the car and keep going.
DRE: What was your inspiration for the character?
JM: It wasnt so hard because shes not so different from every other mother I know in New York City. Shes an urban mom with a job and shes just a regular person. Thats what I liked about it. She doesnt have any superpowers so there is nothing special about her. Shes just very much attached to this child she lost. I thought the idea that from the very start of the movie you are questioning her veracity and her sanity just as she is. It hooks you emotionally from the beginning. As an actor you only have yourself to work with in a sense and people understand that the worst loss you could imagine is the loss of a child. That devastation is unfathomable.
DRE: There was a very scary scene with Alfre Woodard. So even though you knew what was going to happen did you still get scared when you saw the finished movie?
JM: No, but I was in a room with someone who broke her chair. She jumped and yanked the arms off her movie seat. I think that speaks very highly of the film.
DRE: What did you like about the script?
JM: I got hooked into it right away. Is she crazy or not crazy? I was really intrigued because so many films dont involve you emotionally.
DRE: Did the twist get you?
JM: Yes I was very excited by it.
DRE: Are you a fan of the twist ending because youve done a few films with twists like The Hours and even the remake of Psycho?
JM: I like surprises in movies. I love to be scared. Did you see 28 Days Later?
DRE: Yes.
JM: Thats my idea of a good time. I like mysteries too.
DRE: Is the most youve ever run in a movie?
JM: Yeah I ran and ran in this. Sometimes it was good because it was cold and the running kept me warm. Its funny because I ran for five weeks in this movie and when I first started I kept pulling my quads. Then I switched to black sneakers and it got better. I like doing the action stuff because its fun and challenging.
DRE: Did you ever do any sports like running?
JM: No I didnt start really exercising until I really got into acting. [laughs] My hips are starting to go so I have to stop. I cant do it so much anymore. But Im able to do it because I have a lot of stamina. [The Forgotten director] Joseph Ruben was very thoughtful and used to tell me to slow down but I did fine.
DRE: The Forgotten highlights an area of New York that you dont see spotlighted on film too much, the DUMBO area [Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass]. Was that an appeal for this film?
JM: I actually dont know what decision went into that but I thought it was interesting because there is a community over there especially of families. I have a bunch of friends that just moved into DUMBO with young kids because there are a lot of playgrounds. Its a place where you can find more space in an urban area. I liked because it shows places where people really live. We in New York know about it but others dont. Its interesting to see all these little towns that are in this city.
DRE: Are you someone who is upset when so much is given away in the trailer?
JM: They have all these marketing ideas that Im not privy too. They have all these ideas about what they show and what they cant show. I dont think the trailers for The Forgotten give anything away.
DRE: Are you a conspiracy theorist?
JM: No but I love a good conspiracy theory. I think there are so many things we dont understand. They drilled in the Antarctic recently and they pulled up all these tropical fossils. They didnt even drill down that far. We dont know anything. We are constantly finding weird evidence and water on other planets I dont think we really understand half of whats going on. There is a space museum at Cape Canaveral and whenever I come out of there my head hurts with the quasars and the black holes. There is so little we understand. I think there is a possibility for everything. Every time we think we know something such as Leeches are the answer. We discover that its not true.
DRE: There is a great actor named Lee Tergesen [most famous as Tobias Beecher on HBOs Oz] in a small role in The Forgotten. Could you see him becoming a big star?
JM: Lee is great. I worked with Lee about ten years ago on an HBO movie [Cast a Deadly Spell] where he played a transvestite. I hadnt seen him in a long time. Before we did The Forgotten I ran into him. I was coming out of my gym one morning and I see this guy in a bandana coming towards me yelling Julianne! I started to turn away because he looked crazy. I think he could have a great future.
DRE: Did your kids come to the set of The Forgotten?
JM: They did. They watched a little bit but they love going back to my trailer. The movie Im working on now, I asked if they wanted to come to set and they were like Eh, well stay in the trailer. Its always full of toys.
DRE: SuicideGirls is a big fan of The Big Lebowski.
JM: Its become a huge cult movie! Its so cool.
DRE: Do people mention it a lot to you?
JM: College students. If a 19 year old guy comes wandering over chances are hes going to say Hey Maude. But Im shocked that its become this huge phenomenon with The Lebowski Fests all over. I talked Jeff [the real Lebowski] not too long ago and hes like Isnt it something? We got to go to one someday.
DRE: Would you go to a Lebowski Fest?
JM: Sure I would.
DRE: I was surprised that you werent in Catch That Kid [directed by her husband Bart Freundlich].
JM: I was supposed to play somebodys mom but our schedules didnt work out.
DRE: Are you and Bart doing something else together?
JM: We are, were doing an independent movie called Trust the Man that he wrote. It stars me, David Duchovny, Billy Crudup and Lucy Liu. David and I play a couple that has been married for a while. Billy plays my brother and Lucy plays his girlfriend.
DRE: Has anyone every tried to make you change your hair color for a role?
JM: No they havent. Ive been wigged for a few roles. Im wearing a brown wig in the movie Im doing now. Usually they want to use my hair. Funny thing about The Forgotten is that my hair was really long and I was about to cut it but they asked me not to.
DRE: Have you ever thought doing a hard science fiction film?
JM: Its hard to say. I always respond to stories and the situations. I never want to say I want to play the Queen of England on a camel with a gun. Its never like that. Ive never been genre driven, its about the story. If a story in a certain genre surprises me then Ill do it. Violence bores me. I watched a movie not too long ago and it was just one car crash after another.
DRE: It was Bad Boys 2 wasnt it?
JM: [laughs] Literally I was checking my watch the whole time. I dont understand the appeal of them because there is no connection. But I thought Kill Bill was spectacular and it was co crazily violent. It was a fantasy! That was great.
DRE: Could you see yourself in that role?
JM: Uma Thurman was so good and I dont know if I could top her.
DRE: Even though your kids are very young, do you see any acting genes in them?
JM: They know what acting is because they know its my job. If they play act I tease them that they should do it better than that because I can tell. Right now they are children and they love to pretend. My daughter is a big princess, she loves to wear dresses, lip gloss, wear my shoes and she gets into my makeup case. My son is a classic Yu-Gi-Oh addict. They can be whatever they want to be as soon as they graduate from college.
DRE: John C. Reilly said that PT Anderson is writing a movie right now. Do you know if there is a part in it for you?
JM: I dont.
DRE: How about you and Todd Haynes?
JM: Todd is writing a movie about Bob Dylan right now. I dont know whether I will have a part in that.
DRE: Could you talk about your upcoming movie The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio?
JM: A customs agent in Canada made my day. I was going through there and they are very stern. They asked what I was doing and I told them I was shooting this movie. he asked what it was about and said its about a woman with ten children. He said You expect us to believe you have ten children? and I said You made my day!
Its a true story based on memoir a woman wrote about her mother who had ten kids. Shes married to an alcoholic and was a writer who did ad slogans to win all these prizes which she would sell for cash. She raised these ten kids who are all still alive and loved her to death. She was positive, very smart, had very little but was very happy with what she had.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
Skip the Forgotten, by the way. I saw it, sorely disappointed. The Hours, which Moore is in, is a great movie. Go see that one if you want a tragic Moore movie, with a good story line.
Great interview sir!!